The Nucleate Artery: Our First Social Event, Bio-Inspired Tactile Tech, and Recreating Kendall Square in Singapore

2 events 🥡, 1 Digestible 🍽️ AND a Pulse 🎧 episode with Prof. Dean Ho ✨

Nucleate Singapore held its inaugural startup networking event! 🎉 A big thank you to our fantastic co-host, LKCLearn, and our generous sponsor, Proteintech for making this remarkable occasion possible. We were honoured as Volker Patzel, PhD, MBA, Founder and CSO of AVECRIS, and Natasha Hui Jin Ng, PhD, Scientific Co-Founder and Advisor of BetaLife, shared their invaluable biotech startup journeys and insights. The event’s goal was clear: Reach out to and inspire academic trainees about the world of biotech. 

Missed the event? Don't worry, the Nucleate Artery has you covered! 🫀😉

Unlike traditional scientific networking sessions emphasising scientific mechanisms and methods, we engaged in a different kind of connection: the intersection between business and scientific technology. As the Artery team entered the seminar room, an air of anticipation hung as our Managing Director, Sam, was in full swing with her presentation on Nucleate Singapore. It was really heartening to see so many new faces who were keen to find out more about biotech start-ups. The crowd of the night consisted of 60% early career professionals and 40% graduate students. While we did not expect so many graduate students, we were eager to welcome fresh faces and help them prepare for a journey beyond academia.

Riding the RNA Wave

Dr. Patzel opened the session by delving into his extensive journey in the biotech space. Following the completion of his PhD in Germany, he wasted no time in co-founding his first company, Antisense Design and Drug Development (A3D) GmbH. This early chapter in his career coincided with the burgeoning excitement surrounding the discovery of RNA interference (RNAi) in 1998, a pivotal moment that would go on to shape the trajectory of his entrepreneurial endeavours. 

Dr. Patzel candidly spoke about the closure of his first venture (A3D GmbH) but recognised in hindsight that it was an indispensable first step. Subsequently, he went on to establish Steinbeis Transfer Centre for Nucleic Acids Design in Stuttgart and AVECRIS Pte Ltd in Singapore. He remained steadfast in his commitment to advancing RNA technologies and non-viral gene delivery. As fate would have it, we now find ourselves immersed in a resurgent era of RNA therapeutics, fuelled by the success of COVID-19 vaccinations. Dr. Patzel emphasised the substantial role played by hype within the biotech industry, underlining the importance of navigating these waves of enthusiasm with wisdom and foresight. Certainly, his account is not an exception. 

In person, Dr. Patzel exuded an air of unwavering confidence and stability. His words carried the weight of wisdom from years of experience. His content-rich slide deck reflected the rigour and reasoning science behind his work. His sharing offered a profound understanding of the intricate dynamics within the biotech sector and the resilience required to navigate its multifaceted challenges. 

A Young Voice in Biotech Leadership

Next up was Dr. Natasha, offering a distinct dimension to the discussion that beautifully complemented Dr. Patzel's wealth of administrative knowledge. She represented a younger voice allowing for a deeper exploration of the essential topics of personal development and mindset shifts crucial for thriving in the biotech start-up landscape. With her impressive track record of co-founding not one, but two companies — BioMe Oxford during her graduate study days and BetaLife during her postdoctoral stint, Dr. Natasha has proven herself a formidable force.

Her journey commenced alongside fellow PhD colleagues in the thriving UK biotech/medtech community. Together, they participated in business competitions where they proposed a non-invasive and precise human gut microbiome sampling solution to address a notable gap in the market. The enthusiastic reception of their proposal marked the inception of BioMe Oxford in 2015. This path mirrors the way many of us today aspire to enter the biotechnology arena, a journey born out of an initiative to break free from the monotony of daily research routines and venture into different roles. As she transitioned into her postdoctoral research, she fused her dedication to the study of metabolic diseases and her experience in biotech to co-establish BetaLife. What fuels her drive is the diverse range of activities and challenges within her work, from hands-on lab work and scientific communication to persuasive pitching and mentoring aspiring students and staff. Her resounding advice to emerging researchers is to maintain an open-minded perspective and acknowledge that every challenge presents an opportunity for personal and professional growth.

Exploring Biotech Industry Questions

The Q&A session provided an even more diverse discussion about the biotech industry. Questions that were raised by the audience ranged from recruitment details of biotechnology jobs, relevance of further studies such as a Masters of Business Administration for entering the industry and ecosystem challenges. 

With prior experience working in overseas innovation ecosystems, both speakers provided deep insights when asked about the notable differences in the Singapore ecosystem. They unanimously agreed that obtaining support, both administrative and financial, was more accessible abroad. However, it's worth noting that Singapore is still in the relatively nascent stages of cultivating an entrepreneurial culture, and there is room for improvement in terms of the ecosystem supported by various stakeholders. Undoubtedly, as the community matures and gains a more profound understanding of the dynamics that shape the ecosystem, it paves the way for fostering and facilitating entrepreneurial growth and innovation within Singapore.

Very serious looking discussion 🤭

The event came to a delightful close with a light-hearted networking session where attendees had the chance to engage in discussions and unwind over food and drinks. The kaya toast stout on offer was, in particular, a unique experience and a great conversation starter! 🥥 Attendees were seen gathered around the speakers, eager to ask questions and gain additional insights. The room was also abuzz with numerous groups forming, engaging in lively conversations, and sharing their thoughts and ideas. This interactive atmosphere encapsulated the spirit of the event, encouraging collaboration and the exchange of knowledge within the community.

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🍽️ Digestibles

(Research that has been published within the past 2 months)

1. Feeling the Future: Touch-Tech's Tactile Takeover!

From burrs to Velcro, bird-beaks to bullet trains, and echolocation to sonar, biomimetics have had a huge role in shaping our design principles in modern technologies. Taking yet another page from mother nature's playbook, first-authors Cheng Wen, Wang Xinyu, and Xiong Ze, led by Prof. Benjamin Tee from the Materials Science and Engineering, NUS, have developed an ultrasensitive pressure sensor, coined the eAir. They cleverly incorporate hexagonal microarrays that allow for a near frictionless contact - a design inspired from the ultra slippery Nepenthes pitcher plant, and rely on principles of multiphasic interaction of matter in different states (solid-liquid, and liquid-gas interfaces) to allow materials to glide - much like how water effortlessly glides over a lotus leaf (even their initial models were built upon an actual lotus leaf!). The eAir stands out from conventional bulky solid-state pressure sensors as it boasts a miniature size of ~0.5 mm³ (no bigger than a grain of sand!). Unlike conventional sensors that rely on elastic deformation of solids which results in poor sensitivities and tolerances in aqueous environments, these novel hybrid design principles also provide a highly responsive and sensitive linear feedback in capacitance in response to pressure changes. This device can operate under various complex biological conditions including turbulent flow (think artery!), provide a platform for monitoring in vivo biological environments, such as intracranial pressure, and augment medical technologies used in laparoscopic procedures that require precise sensitivities.

An illustration of the concept and design of the eAir. Figure reproduced from Cheng, W., Wang, X., Xiong, Z., Liu, J., Liu, Z., Jin, Y., ... & Tee, B. C. (2023). Frictionless multiphasic interface for near-ideal aero-elastic pressure sensing. Nature Materials, 1-9.

🍪 Bite-sized Analysis

A promising development in the field of tactile design and haptic feedback, if implemented en masse, could profoundly revolutionise the way we interact or even interface with electronics. Given the fast-paced developments in virtual/augmented reality (VR/AR), tactile feedback could greatly enhance user experiences in simulations and training that would otherwise place them in hazardous or demanding environments. Medically, the eAir could be integrated into prosthetics and exoskeletons to aid rehabilitation in mobility and sensing. Additionally, it could give electronic devices the "sense of touch", improving precision and accuracy, and could greatly increase its reliability across many industrial sectors; industrial automation to ensure product quality, autonomous vehicles that sense road conditions and grip. Indeed, the eAir is an innovative tactile device to (be)hold! (no pun intended).

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🥡 Event Takeaways

ClavystBio Connects

Early October, ClavystBio kindly invited Nucleate Singapore to ClavystBio Connects, where leaders in the life sciences ecosystem, including academics, investors, industry and government, converged to discuss Singapore’s standing as a life science hub. The panel, moderated by the cheery and witty Dr. Fidah Alsagoff, involved luminary MIT Institute Professor Robert S. Langer, PhD, Founding Partner of Polaris Partners, Dr. Terry McGuire, MS, MBA, and President of Product Development and CMO of Verily, Dr. Amy Abernethy, MD, PhD. 

We were a part of a very involved audience as many engaging questions came into Slido as the session proceeded. However, there was a central theme to most of the discussion: what can be learned from the innovation ecosystem in Kendall Square, and if its successes can be replicable in Singapore.

The Existing Model: Kendall Square, Cambridge Massachusetts

Kendall Square is a neighbourhood in Cambridge, Massachusetts, described by MIT as the “most innovative square mile on the planet” [1]. It is a place of high prosperity, high real GDP per capita, high innovation performance, and high state prosperity performance [2]. It is also home to renowned biotechnology companies like Genzyme (now owned by Sanofi), bluebird bio, and Biogen [3, fantastic article, highly recommend]. As with any other success story, people wanted to know why and how this success was built and sustained. 

When asked about the enabling factors behind Kendall Square, “good students'', “good hospitals”, and “good universities” were highlighted. Indeed, there is a high density of talent in the Massachusetts life sciences cluster, housed within various institutions and infrastructures, including research organisations, teaching hospitals, and key business and industry players, all positioned in the square using strategic urban planning [4]. 

The major constituents of the Massachusetts Life Science Cluster that support innovation. This image has been simplified and recreated from the original image by Michael Porter, Massachusetts Competitiveness Report (2012).

Luck is acknowledged as a key factor [5: Talent versus Luck]. As luck is simply probability, the panel wanted to explore if it may be possible to better the probability of successful ventures by engineering spaces in Singapore that can spark, expedite, and sustainably generate innovation. Good people and good infrastructure can optimise spatial and temporal conditions for serendipitous, and eventually profitable, meetings to happen. Kendall Square is a life sciences hub that supports the training, contribution, and testing of its technology and talent, a model that has been suggested to not only support innovation, but also the generation of profitable ventures (this is also something that Y Combinator does, read here). 

Kendall Square is also a space that allows for failure. At the panel, it was commented that the spatial proximity and density of academic and industrial institutions means that if you fail at one, you can join the next one next door – this hinted at an ecosystem that practises a tolerance for failure for its talent. A failure at a venture may be looked at as an asset, not necessarily an indicator for poor performance. This culture also cushions the fall from failure, which encourages risk-taking behaviour, a must-have among entrepreneurs. 

Building a Square in our Little Red Dot: Singapore’s Core Assets 

The probe into the Kendall Square ecosystem primed the audience for the following question: does Singapore already have the ingredients for the recreation of the life sciences cluster? International board members of ClavystBio were included in this conversation (Dr. Alsagoff seemed to have fun calling on his friends in the audience 🤣), where Singapore’s unique selling points (USPs) were considered. 

Firstly, Singapore has talent; the willingness of the people here to collaborate internationally has been and is to be lauded. This openness to collaborate may help overcome Singapore’s small talent pool – training can happen over online meetings, and the interconnectedness of global stakeholders give fluidity to talent (they can be flown over, and vice versa). 

Secondly, Singapore has set up impressive data infrastructures that support safe and easier public data usage for national-level translational ventures; the establishment of data types that transform and de-identify data, with infrastructure that reduces the number of data owners to get through, increase data permissibility (speed can matter in ventures) [6]. Furthermore, Singapore has been collecting high quality data, unique because it is data distinct to its Asian population. In 2020, the Ministry of Health (MOH) established the Consortium for Clinical Research and Innovation, Singapore (CRIS), which brought together six national R&D initiatives, one of which is the Precision Health Research, Singapore (PRECISE), an entity that partnered with genomics giant Illumina in 2022 to sequence and analyse 100,000 Singaporean whole genomes (SG100K) [7]. This dataset will be Southeast Asia’s most extensive population study. 

Finally, Singapore has long implemented policies to support the development and growth of a biomedical science hub: Biopolis, Tuas Biomedical Park, MedTech Hub at Tukang Innovation Park, Singapore Science Park are among the many biomedical research and manufacturing clusters in Singapore [8]. On this note, ClavystBio also recently celebrated the opening of Node 1, a collaborative, ready-to-use space for ventures to move from incubators to beyond, advancing their mission of creating a translational highway between life science breakthroughs and meaningful health outcomes (news was reported on ClavystBio’s LinkedIn here). 

So yes, there was a general belief that Singapore does have everything she needs to be a life science biomedical hub that can produce fresh, innovative ideas that become profitable ventures. However, given her young nature (e.g. Biopolis was only set up in 2003), more time may be required for us to see greater success stories – exercise patience, the panel emphasised, and we will soon see our own local success stories, to which we will muse about. 

For Fiction Lovers 📚, Pick Up Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow!

While we are all on the same page on the characteristics of Kendall Square culture, we want to highlight just how prominent it is in the innovation space. We recently read New York Times Best Seller Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow (fans of this book will probably know why we’re bringing this up here). This tale sets itself up in the perimeters of Kendall Square as it follows three brilliant friends – two from Harvard, one from MIT (universities near and in Kendall Square, respectively) who through connection and chance, became revered designers and programmers who created very successful video games.

The author uses the intentionality of space within Kendall Square, to exemplify how spatial and temporal factors played a part in the success of the three friends. For example, it is truly because of chance by proximity that while two of them were childhood friends, the eventual producer and CEO was an assigned roommate, the sound designer was a girlfriend of the assigned roommate, the mentor – the one already in and connected with the industry – was a teacher in the faculty. 

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🎧 Nucleate Singapore Pulse

Who did we interview?

Nucleate interviewed Prof. Dean Ho, PhD, Provost’s Chair Professor; ​Director, N.1 Institute for Health and The Institute for Digital Medicine (WisDM); and ​Head, Department of ​Biomedical Engineering,​ at NUS. He is also a Scientific Co-Founder of KYAN Technologies.

What did we talk about? 

Prof. Dean Ho discusses the importance of accessibility and community in fostering innovation. He highlights the role of academia in bridging the gap between innovation and real-world impact. Prof. Dean Ho also shares his experience in setting up a biotech company in both the US and Singapore, emphasising the accessibility and agility of the Singaporean ecosystem.

An interesting fact

“Medicine without Meds” is a book co-authored by Prof. Dean Ho along with Yoann Sapanel and Dr. Agata Blasiak, PhD, and is a blueprint that outlines how to bridge tech ideation, with validation, to ultimately reach adoption, using Digital Therapeutics (DTx) as a use case.  Get a copy of the book from 17 Oct 2023!

View show notes and transcript

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📆 Events happening this month

Entrepreneurship

• Innovate UK Global Incubator Programme Singapore: Technology Showcase 2023 | Singapore Deep-Tech Alliance, Innovate UK and Innovate UK EDGE

  (17 Oct, 2:00 PM - 5:00 PM, In person at Singapore 189352)

• Startup Outreach Brasil Demo Day | Enterprise Singapore, SBF, ApexBrasil

  (27 Oct, 2:30 PM - 5:30 PM, In person at Singapore 068914)

• Circular Economy Innovation Day @ SWITCH 2023 | Enterprise Singapore

  (31 Oct, 12:00 PM - 4:00 PM, In person at Singapore 018956)

• Singapore Week of Innovation & Technology | Enterprise Singapore and MP

  (31 Oct - 2 Nov, In person at Singapore 018956)

Fundraising

• Life Science Fundraising and Licensing Partner Bootcamp | LSI

  (24 Oct, 9:00 AM - 5:30 PM, In person at Singapore 609916)

Management

• Pharma-Level Project Management and Consulting Workshop | SGInnovate

  (17 Oct, 2:00 PM - 6:00 PM, In person at Singapore 059911)

• What does it mean to be a Biotech/Healthcare Product Manager? | Product Collective

  (19 Oct, 1:00 AM - 1:30 AM, Online)

Policy and Regulation

• TTI Intellectual Property (IP) Clinic | NUS Enterprise

  (24 Oct, 2:00 PM - 5:00 PM, In person at Singapore 117417)

Discovery

• Cell & Gene Therapy and Emerging Pharma Connect | ZS

  (17 Oct, 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM, In person at Singapore 138623)

• Planning for Cell & Gene Therapy Commercialisation | LSX

  (18 Oct, 10:00 PM - 10:30 PM, Online)

• University Hospital Health Summit 2023 | NUH & SNUBH

  (19 Oct, 8:00 AM - 5:30 PM, In person at Singapore 119228)

• Race to Zero: Empowering and Expanding Trusted Voluntary Carbon Markets | KPMG

  (24 Oct, 5:00 PM - 8:00 PM, In person at Singapore 018961)

• EMEA - Clinical Trials Webinar 2023 (02nd Edition) | SK Global Events

  (15 Nov - 17 Nov, Online)

Network

• Fukuoka x Singapore Collaboration Event | Fukuoka City Government

  (30 Oct, 6:00 PM - 8:30 PM, In person at Singapore 079912)

Personal Branding

• Strategic Personal Branding: Maximising Targeted Audience Engagement | NAV

  (23 Oct, 9:30 PM - 11:00 PM, Online)